one of six
by Darkest-Stary-Night
Summary: The first book in the Reading Our Past Series. When Rose and the gang recieve an unusual package containing six books, what will they do? Read it of course. Secrets revealed, embarassing moments re-lived, the VA crew go on a journey through the past.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Characters in the story, Richelle Mead does. I only wish I owned Dimitri :P**

* * *

Chapter One

I was sleeping peacefully when there was a knock on the door.

**Knock. Knock. Knock.**

"Go away," I groaned and pulled my pillow over my head.

**Knock. Knock. Knock.**

Man they were persistent.

I was about to get out of my comfy bed until I heard the front door open and a murmured conversation and the door closed.

I was almost asleep when I felt the bed shaking.

_Why does this seem so familiar?_ I thought. Then it came to me.

"Oh no," I groaned.

I opened me eyes to see Yeva standing next to me bed with a smirk on her face. I sat up. "Dimitri," I yelled. He came running and stopped in the doorway with the rest of the family behind him. I glared at him. "If you don't control your Grandmother I swear…," I threatened.

He looked scared. He said something to Yeva in Russian. She snapped something back at him and he sighed.

"She said she not leaving, and there's nothing I can do about it, until you get up," he said.

"Oh no, I'm not falling for that again," I said. She turned to look at Dimitri. "And don't talk in Russian to Dimitri when I know you speak English."

Yeva turned back to me with a glare. I couldn't help but put a smile on my face.

"Hurry up and get up and open your package," she said. She turned on the heel of her shoe and stormed out. Everyone else stared to disperse to different parts of the house soon after.

"You okay Roza?" Dimitri asked.

I plonked myself back on my bed. "I think so. But if that woman wants to live she better stay out of the bedroom."

He chuckled and I felt his strong arms wrap around my waist. He snuggled his face into the nook of my shoulder to wake me up.

"Okay, I'm up, I'm up," I said.

"You know you don't have to be," Dimitri whispered seductively while kissing my neck.

As if right on queue Mikhail, Dimitri's and my one year old son, started to cry. Dimitri groaned.

I laughed. "Yeah I have to be," I informed him.

I got up and made my way to Mike's room. He was kneeling in his cot and leaning onto the side of it.

I picked him up. "Are you hungry my little man?" I asked.

His cries only got louder.

"Come on," I said, "let's get you some milk."

I bounced Mikhail while walking towards the kitchen and trying to calm him down.

While I was walking past the lounge room I heard someone mutter something that sounded like 'someone shut that thing up'. I ignored the comment and made my way towards the kitchen.

I got there and saw that Dimitri already had a bottle of milk ready. I faked a gasp. Mikhail stopped crying and looked at me. "Look at what Daddy's got for you," I said.

He turned his little head in Dimitri's direction, saw what was in his hand and instantly reached for him. "Papa," Mikhail cried.

Dimitri came towards us and pulled Mikhail out of my arms. He showed him the bottle. "You want this Mikhail?" he asked and when Mikhail nodded Dimitri gave him the milk.

"Come on," I said. "Everyone's waiting for me to open the package."

When we got to the lounge room I saw that there were a lot of people there. Scattered around the room were; my mother curled up to my father, Mia curled up to Eddie, Lissa curled up to Christian, Adrian, Alberta, and a few surprises, there was Oksana curled up to Mark, Viktoria curled up to Nikolia – now that's a surprise – Olena, Yeva, Sonya and Karolina.

"Hey guys. Where are the children?" I asked.

There was a chorus of different things. They ranged from 'Rose' to 'Aw cute baby' to 'finally she's up'. There was one that stood out though. 'They're at school you stupid bitch'. It was Viktoria who had said it.

Everyone turned to gape at her. "Viktoria Belikov. You will apologise now," Olena yelled.

I glared at her. I started to tell her of for calling me a bitch in front of my son, "I don't seem like one do I when it seems that you decided to take my advice on-?"

"Mamma," Mikhail's cute baby voice cut into my rant. I looked towards him. He was leaning towards me and was clutching an envelope in his hand.

I pulled him into me embrace. "Where did you get that?" I asked while taking the envelope.

"Papa," was his simple answer. Then I looked to Dimitri. He had a package that looked familiar in his hands.

"Alright then," I said. I walked over to a lounge and sat in it. Dimitri soon joined me and swapped Mikhail for the package. Everyone else gathered around, either sitting in other chairs or sitting on the floor. "Let's see what's in this package then."

I opened the letter. I started to read it.

"Read it out loud Rose," Eddie said.

"Fine," I snapped. "It says:

_Dear Rose and company,_

_I am pleased to inform you that, enclosed in the package are six books._

_These books contain your life from when you were brought back to the academy._

_There are some among you that are confused about the past. All of you remember that; it is just the past, none of it is meant now._

_Enjoy reading,_

_RM._"

"Interesting," my mother says while eying me.

"Alright, let's get this over with," I said while opening the package. Mikhail was eager to help.

I took out the first of the books and gasped. It was a picture of me when I was seventeen. I read the blurb out loud, "**Lissa Dragomir is a Moroi princess: a mortal vampire with a rare gift for harnessing the earth's magic. She must be protected at all times from Strigoi; the fiercest vampires-the ones who never die. The powerful blend of human and vampire blood that flows through Rose Hathaway, Lissa's best friend, makes her Dhampir. Rose is dedicated to a dangerous life of protecting Lissa from the Strigoi, who are hell-bent on making Lissa one of them.**

**After two years of freedom, Rose and Lissa are caught and dragged back to St. Vladimir's Academy, a school for vampire royalty and their guardians-to-be, hidden in the deep forests of Montana. But inside the iron gates, life is even more fraught with danger…and the Strigoi are always close by.**

**Rose and Lissa must navigate their dangerous world, confront the temptations of forbidden love, and never let their guard down, lest the evil undead make Lissa one of them forever…**" Everyone was quiet for a while. I was the one to break that silence. "So, that was interesting," I said. "Let's see what the books are like. Comrade you can go first." I threw the book to him.

"Why me?" he asked.

"Because you're the one who's closest to Rose," Lissa said. It was obvious that she was trying to hold her laughter in.

Mikhail giggled. "Yay, Papa first, Papa first," he said.

Dimitri poked Mikhail in the stomach making Mikhail giggle even more. "You're evil my little man," he said and started to read.

* * *

**First FanFiction please don't be too harsh on me.**

**Pleeeeaaaasssseeee R&R**

**Dimka'sbabe  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry it took so long, i have a lot of school work and i had to attend some meetings with parents. I will try to update soon.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything in this story.

* * *

**Chapter Two

**One**

**I FELT HER FEAR BEFORE I heard her screams.**

"Is that because of the bond?" Mia asked.

"Yes it is," Lissa said.

"That's cool."

"Not so cool later," I mumbled.

**Her nightmare pulsed into me, shaking me out of my own dream, which had something to do with a beach and some hot guy rubbing suntan oil on me.**

"Looks like we know what was on your mind," Christian said teasingly.

"At least it's not as bad as what is on your mind every night," I said. Both Lissa and Christian blushed.

"Typical teenage girls and their fantasies," Mum murmured and Dad chuckled.

**Images-hers, not mine-tumbled through my mind: fire and blood, the smell of smoke, the twisted metal of a car. The pictures wrapped around me, suffocating me, until some rational part of my brain reminded me this wasn't **_**my**_** dream.**

Lissa and I leant into our husbands taking in their comfort and pushing away the images.

_Are you okay Liss?_ I asked. Over the last couple of years we had managed to make the bond work both ways so that we could now talk to each other in our heads.

_I'm fine,_ she answered.

**I woke up, strands of long, dark hair sticking to my forehead.**

**Lissa lay in her bed, thrashing and screaming. I bolted out of mine, quickly crossing the few feet that separated us.**

"**Liss," I said, shaking her. "Liss, wake up."**

**Her screams dropped off, replaced by soft whimpers. "Andre," she moaned. "Oh God."**

**I helped her sit up. "Liss, you aren't there anymore. Wake up."**

**After a few moments, her eyes fluttered open, and in the dim lighting, I could see a flicker of consciousness start to take over. Her frantic breathing slowed, and she leaned into me, resting her head against my shoulder. I put an arm around her and ran a hand over her hair.**

"Such a nice friend," Dad said.

"That's what sisters are for Dad," I said.

"You're not sisters though," Viktoria said. "You have no family besides your Mum and Dad."

Mikhail knew what Viktoria was saying and was trying to get out of Dimitri's arms to get to her.

I touched his shoulder and he looked at me. He had tears running down his face. I wiped them away. "Don't cry baby. You know it's not true," I said.

"But Mamma," he whined.

"No buts. Who's my family?"

"Gwama, Gwampa, you, me, Papa."

"Exactly." He started to cry again. "Come here." I pulled him to me, but he kept hold of one of Dimitri's fingers. He snuggled into my chest sobbing.

_And where do I fit in that?_ Lissa asked.

_You're still my sister Liss,_ I said.

_But Mikhail didn't include me._

_He was talking about direct family._

_Meaning?_

_Grandparents, parents and himself._

_Oh okay._

"**It's okay." I told her gently. "Everything's okay."**

"**I had that dream."**

"**Yeah. I know."**

"Bit obvious," Christian remarked.

Liss whacked him in the back of the head. "Continue Dimitri," she said.

**We sat like that for several minutes, not saying anything else. When I felt her emotions calm down, I leaned over to the nightstand between our beds and turned on the lamp. It glowed dimly, but neither of us really needed much to see by. Attracted by the light, our housemate's cat, Oscar, leapt up onto the sill of the open window.**

**He gave me a wide berth-animals don't like Dhampirs, for whatever reason-but jumped onto the bed and rubbed his head against Lissa, purring softly. Animals didn't have a problem with Moroi, and they all loved Lissa in particular. Smiling, she scratched his chin, and I felt her calm further.**

_That darn cat,_ I thought. Lissa giggled.

Everyone looked between Lissa and me like we were crazy. I shook my head.

"**When did we last do a feeding?" I asked, studying her face.**

"A what," Mum exclaimed.

"A feeding, Janine, did you expect them to live among humans and have feeders?" Dad asked.

"Yes I did."

"What, so we live in the same house as humans and we have a feeder in the house so that any humans snooping around can find them and possibly figure out our secret?" I asked.

"Okay. Now I see your point."

"Good."

**Her fair skin was paler than usual. Dark circles hung under her eyes, and there was an air of frailty about her. School had been hectic this week, and I couldn't remember the last time I'd giver her blood. "It's been like…more than two days hasn't it? Three? Why didn't you say something?"**

**She shrugged and wouldn't meet my eyes. "You were busy. I didn't want to-"**

"**Screw that," I said, shifting into a better position. No wonder she seemed so weak. Oscar not wanting me any closer, leapt down and returned to the window, where he could watch from a safe distance. "Come on. Let's do this."**

"Trust Rose to say something like that," Christian muttered.

"Shut it, Fire Boy," Eddie said using my nickname for Christian.

"**Rose-"**

"**Come **_**on**_**. It'll make you feel better."**

**I tilted my head and tossed my hair back, baring my neck. I saw her hesitate, but the sight of my neck and what it offered proved too powerful. A hungry expression crossed her face, and her lips parted slightly, exposing the fangs she normally kept hidden while living among humans. Those fangs contrasted oddly with the rest of her features. With her pretty face and pale blond hair, she looked more like an angel than a vampire.**

"But you're my angel," Christian stage-whispered into Lissa's ear causing to giggle.

**As her teeth neared my bare skin, I felt my heart race with a mix of fear and anticipation. I always hated feeling the latter, but it was nothing I could help, a weakness I couldn't shake.**

"Let's hope that this is over soon, I'm getting a bit nauseous," Viktoria said sarcastically.

**Her fangs bit into me, hard, and I cried out at the brief flare of pain. Then it faded, replaced by a wonderful, golden joy that spread through my body. It was better than any of the times I'd been drunk or high. Better than sex-or so I imagined, since I'd never done it.**

"So Rose," Mum queried. "Which is better now do you think?"

"Do you really have to ask?" I answered.

She blushed and everyone else laughed.

**It was a blanket of pure, refined pleasure, wrapping me up and promising everything would be right in the world. On and on it went. The chemicals in her saliva triggered an endorphin rush, and I lost track of the world, lost track of who I was.**

"So missy, who are you?" Mia asked.

I shook my head. She already knew the answer. I answered it anyway. "I'm Rosemarie Belikov, formally known as Hathaway. I'm twenty-one years old and I have a beautiful son and hansom husband. Shall I go on?" I said.

She shook her head vigorously. "No that should be enough."

**Then, regretfully, it was over. It had taken less than a minute.**

**She pulled back, wiping her hand across her lips as she studied me. "You okay?"**

"**I…yeah." I lay on the bed, dizzy from the blood loss. "Just need to sleep it off. I'm fine."**

**Her pale, jade-green eyes watched me with concern. She stood up. "I'm going to get something to eat."**

"Glad someone was taking care and thinking," Dad said.

**My protest came awkwardly to my lips, and she left before I could get out a sentence. The buzz from her bite had lessened as soon as she broke the connection, but some of it still lingered in my veins, and I felt a goofy smile cross my lips. Turning my head, I glanced up at Oscar, still sitting in the window.**

"**You don't know what you're missing," I told him.**

"First sign of madness you know, talking to cats," Lissa said giggling.

"I'm not the only one who talked to animals while we were runaways," I reminded her.

She blushed and looked down. "Oh right."

I giggled at the memory. "You can continue now."

"Let's hope there aren't many more interruptions," Dimitri said.

"Don't count on that Comrade."

**His attention was on something outside. Hunkering down into a crouch, he puffed out his jet-black fur. His tail started twitching.**

**My smile faded, and I forced myself to sit up. The world spun, and I waited for it to right itself before trying to stand. When I managed it, the dizziness set in again and this time refused to leave. Still, I felt okay enough to stumble to the window and peer out with Oscar. He eyed me warily, scooted over a little, and then returned to whatever had held his attention.**

**A warm breeze-unseasonably warm for a Portland fall-played with my hair as I leaned out. The street was dark and relatively quiet. It was three in the morning, just about the only time a college campus settled down, at least somewhat. The house in which we'd rented a room for the past eight months sat on a residential street with old, mismatched houses. Across the road, a streetlight flickered, nearly ready to burn out. It still cast enough light for me to make out the shaped of cars and buildings. In our own yard, I could see the silhouettes of trees and bushes.**

**And a man watching me.**

"That stalker," Olena said speaking for the first time since we stared reading. "I wonder who he is."

"You don't want to Olena, you don't want to know," I said. I already knew who it was and if she found out it was Dimitri I don't know what would happen.

**I jerked back in surprise. A figure stood by a tree in the yard, about thirty feet away, where he could easily see through the window. He was close enough that I probably could have thrown something and hit him.**

"And why didn't you?" Sonya asked.

"I was too out of it," I stated.

**He was certainly close enough that he could have seen what Lissa and I had just done.  
**I was vaguely aware of Dimitri nodding his head minutely.

**The shadows covered him so well that even with me heightened sight, I couldn't make out any of his features, save for his height. He was tall. Really tall.**

I saw that Christian, Eddie and Adrian had their heads together and were whispering something to each other. After a while they shook each others hands. I couldn't shake the feeling that they had just made a bet of some kind.

**He stood there for just a moment, barely discernible, and then stepped back, disappearing into the shadows cast by the trees on the far side of the yard. I was pretty sure I saw someone else move nearby and join him before the blackness swallowed them both.**

**Whoever these figures were, Oscar didn't like them. Not counting me, he usually got along with most people, growing upset only when someone posed an immediate danger. The guy outside hadn't done anything threatening to Oscar, but the cat had sensed something, something that put him on edge.**

**Something similar to what he always sensed in me.**

**Icy fear raced through me, almost-but not quite-eradicating the lovely bliss of Lissa's bite. Backing up fro the window, I jerked on a pair of jeans that I found on the floor, nearly falling over in the process.**

I saw Adrian's mouth open to make a comment but when he saw the glare that he was getting from Dimitri he closed his mouth and didn't say a word. I had a feeling that he was about to ask whether I was naked or not.

**Once they were on, I grabbed my coat and Lissa's, along with our wallets. Shoving my feet into the first shoes I saw, I headed out the door.**

**Downstairs, I found her in the cramped kitchen, rummaging through the refrigerator. One of our housemates, Jeremy, sat at the table, hand on his forehead as he stared sadly at a calculus book. Lissa regarded me with surprise.**

"**You shouldn't be up."**

"**We have to go. Now."**

**Her eyes widened, and then a moment later, understanding clicked in. "Are you…really? Are you sure?"**

**I nodded. I couldn't explain how I knew for sure. I just did.**

**Jeremy watched us curiously. "What's wrong?"**

**An idea came to mind. "Liss, get his car keys."**

**He looked back and forth between us. "What are you-?" **

"Don't blame him for looking back and forth. You were going to mug him." Alberta said.

**Lissa unhesitatingly walked over to him. Her fear poured into me through our psychic bond, but there was something else too: her complete faith that I would take care of everything, that we would be safe. Like always, I hoped I was worthy of that kind of trust.**

**She smiled broadly and gazed directly into his eyes. For a moment, Jeremy just stared, still confused, and then I saw the thrill seize him. His eyes glazed over, and he regarded her adoringly.**

"That darn human, hitting on _my_ girl," Christian said. He was irate at that.

"Don't worry, it was only the compulsion. You know that you're the only one that I would actually like," Lissa tried to comfort him.

"Christian, you should know that everyone who is under the influence of compulsion has that look on their face," I said. It was true.

I saw him calm down and Dimitri took that as a sign to continue, but I noticed that he tried to speed it up a bit.

"**We need to borrow your car," she said in a gentle voice. "Where are your keys?"**

**He smiled, and I shivered. I had a high resistance to compulsion, but I could still feel its effects when it was directed at another person. That, and I'd been taught my entire life that using it was wrong. Reaching into his pocket, Jeremy handed over a set of keys hanging on a large red key chain.**

"**Thank you," said Lissa. "And where is it parked?"**

"**Down the street," he said dreamily. "At the corner. By Brown." Four blocks away.**

"Too far," Lissa muttered.

"At least you met me, again, because it was too far away," Eddie said.

"That's true."

"**Thank you," she repeated, backing up. "As soon as we leave, I want you to go back to studying. Forget you ever saw us tonight."**

**He nodded obligingly. I got the impression he would had walked off a cliff for her right then if she'd asked. All humans were susceptible to compulsion, but Jeremy appeared weaker than most. That came in handy right now.**

"**Come on," I told her. "We've got to move."**

**We stepped outside, heading toward the corner he'd named. I was still dizzy from the bite and kept stumbling, unable to move as quickly as I wanted. Lissa had to catch hold of me a few times to stop me from falling.**

This brought put a few chuckles from people.

"What?" I asked.

"It's a bit ironic isn't it? You're the Dhampir but you're being held up by the Moroi," Eddie laughed.

I was about to lunge at him when a pair of arms wrapped around me, and I remembered I had Mikhail in my arms. I looked down at Mikhail in fear that he might be spooked by the sudden appearance of an arm. There wasn't any problem though, he was still holding onto Dimitri's finger so he knew who it was.

"Don't worry about them. You were only like that because of the side effects of helping a friend," Dimitri whispered into my ear.

I instantly settled down and leant into his side to let him know I was alright.

**All the time, the anxiety rushed into me from her mind. I tried my best to ignore it; I had my own fears to deal with.**

"**Rose…what are we going to do if they catch us?" she whispered.**

"**They won't," I said fiercely. "I won't let them."**

"**But if they've found us-"**

"**They've found us before. They didn't catch us then. We'll just drive over to the train station and go to L.A. They'll lose the trail."**

"Is that what you really thought?" Alberta asked.

"Well it was actually more like a hope," I said.

**I made it sound simple. I always did, even though there was nothing simple about being on the run from the people we'd grown up with. We'd been doing it for two years, hiding wherever we could and just trying to finish high school. Our senior year had just started, and living on a college campus had seemed safe. We were so close to freedom.**

**She said nothing more, and I felt her faith in me surge up once more. This was the way it had always been between us. I was the one who took action, who made sure things happened-sometimes recklessly so. She was the more reasonable one, the one who thought things out and researched them extensively before acting. Both styles had their uses, but at the moment, recklessness was called for. We didn't have time to hesitate.**

"Glad someone thinks things through," Mum said.

"But I agree with Rose, recklessness was needed at that time," Lissa said sticking up for me.

"That doesn't matter."

"Yeas it does. If we had thought things through then it probably could've gone wrong because we didn't know how many guardians there were."

Mum stoped arguing after that.

_Thanks_, I said through the bond.

_It's alright._

**Lissa and I had been best friends ever since kindergarten, when our teacher had paired us together for writing lessons. Forcing five-year-olds to spell **_**Vasilisa Dragomir**_** and **_**Rosemarie Hathaway**_** was beyond cruel, and we'd-or rather, **_**I'd**_**-responded appropriately. I chucked my book at our teacher and called her a fascist bastard. I hadn't known what those words meant, but I'd known how to hit a moving target.**

"I remember that day," Eddie said.

"And you still remember how?" I asked.

"I felt like doing the same thing, you just beat me to it."

Everyone laughed.

**Lissa and I had been inseparable ever since.**

"**Do you hear that?" she asked suddenly.**

**It took me a few seconds to pick up her sharper senses already had. Footsteps, moving fast. I grimaced. We had two more blocks to go.**

"**We've got to run for it," I said, catching hold of her arm.**

"**But you can't-"**

"_**Run**_**"**

"Bad idea," someone muttered. I didn't know who it was.

**It took every ounce of my will power not to pass out on the sidewalk. My body didn't want to run after losing blood or while still metabolizing the effects of her saliva. But I ordered my muscles to stop their bitching and clung to Lissa as our feet pounded against the concrete.**

"This book is proving how insane Rose really is," Christian laughed.

"How so?" Dad asked.

"Well, first she talks to a cat_ then_ she talks to her muscles."

"Who cares? She's just a bit out of it. Now, unless you stop teasing my daughter, I'll break your knee caps."

Christianly instantly shut up and wiped the smirk off of his face.

**Normally I could have outrun her without any extra effort-particularly since she was barefoot-but tonight, she was all that held me upright.**

**The pursuing footsteps grew louder, closer. Black stars danced before my eyes. Ahead of us, I could make out Jeremy's green Honda. Oh God, if we could just make it-**

At that point I thought I heard someone say 'No you're not' but it was so low I didn't know if I had heard it.

**Ten feet from the car, a man stepped directly into our path.**

Adrian burst out laughing.

"If you don't be quiet, you'll share the same fate as your other friend," Dad threatened.

Just like Christian, Adrian shut up. Obviously no one is brave enough to cross the path of Abe Mazur.

**We came to a screeching halt, and I jerked Lissa back by her arm. It was **_**him**_**, the guy I'd seen across the street watching me. He was older than us, maybe mid-twenties, and as tall as I'd figured, probably six-six or six-seven.**

"So how tall are you?" Adrian asked.

"Six-seven," Dimitri answered.

"Yes," Eddie yelled. He held his hands out to Adrian and Christian. "You each owe me twenty bucks."

They both handed twenty dollars to Eddie while grumbling.

**And under different circumstances-say, when he wasn't holding up our desperate escape-I would have thought he was hot. Shoulder-length brown hair, tied back in a short ponytail. Dark brown eyes. A long brown coat-a duster, I thought it was called.**

"Dimka, how could you?" Olena asked.

"I was on orders," he answered.

"It's true Olena, I made him do it," Alberta said.

**But his hotness was irrelevant now. He was to only obstacle keeping Lissa and me away from the car and our freedom. The footsteps behind us slowed, and I knew our pursuers had caught up. Off to the side, I detected more movement, more people closing in. God. They'd sent almost a dozen guardians to retrieve us. I couldn't believe it. The queen herself didn't travel with that many.**

**Panicked and not entirely in control of my higher reasoning, I acted out of instinct. I pressed up to Lissa, keeping her behind me and away from the man who appeared to be the leader.**

"**Leave her alone," I growled. "Don't touch her."**

"You're too delusional. Please say you're not going to fight him?" Mum asked. Dad looked at me proudly.

"Yes, I was," I replied simply.

**His face was unreadable, but he held out his hand in what was apparently supposed to be some sort of calming gesture, like I was a rabid animal he was planning to sedate.**

"**I'm not going to-"**

**He took a step forward. Too close.**

**I attacked him, leaping out in an offensive maneuver I hadn't used in two years, not since Lissa and I had run away. The move was stupid, another reaction born of instinct and fear. And it was hopeless. He was a skilled guardian, not a novice who hadn't finished his training. He also wasn't weak and on the verge of passing out.**

"Stupid," I muttered.

**And man, was he fast. I'd forgotten how fast guardians could be, how they could move and strike like cobras. He knocked me off as though brushing away a fly, and his hand slammed into me and sent me backwards. I don't think he meant to strike that hard-probably just intended to keep me away-but my lack of coordination interfered with my ability to respond. Unable to catch my footing, I started to fall, heading straight toward the sidewalk at a twisted angle, hip-first. It was going to hurt. A **_**lot**_**.**

I could see everyone cringing imaging what it would be to be like to fall onto the concrete on their hip. That was everyone but the three who knew that I didn't fall.

**Only it didn't.**

They let out the breaths they were holding.

"Why didn't it hurt?" Eddie asked.

"You'll see," Lissa said before I could.

**Just as quickly as he'd blocked me, the man reached out and caught my arm, keeping me upright.**

"Oh that's why," Eddie said.

**When I'd steadied myself, I noticed he was staring at me-or, more precisely, me neck. Still disoriented, I didn't get it right away. Then, slowly, my free hand reached up to the side of my throat and lightly touched wound Lissa had made earlier. When I pulled my fingers back, I saw slick, dark blood on my skin. Embarrassed, I shook my hair so that it fell forward around my face. My hair was thick and long and completely covered my neck. I'd grown it out for precisely this reason.**

"Good idea since we were among humans," I said.

"That wouldn't have been the only reason though would it Rose?" Mark asked.

"No, the other reason was mentioned, so I could hide my neck."

**The guy's dark eyes lingered on the now-covered bite a moment longer and then met mine. I returned the look defiantly and quickly jerked out of his hold. He let me go, though I knew he could have restrained me all night if he wanted.**

"And why didn't you?" Alberta asked.

"Because I needed their cooperation and if that meant that I let go of her then that's what I would do," Dimitri said.

"You didn't quite get me cooperation though did you Comrade?"

Dimitri didn't answer he just continued reading.

**Fighting the nauseating dizziness, I backed toward Lissa again, bracing myself for another attack. Suddenly, her hand caught hold of mine. "Rose," she said quietly. "Don't."**

"You used compulsion on my daughter," Dad yelled. "How dare you."

He coiled to spring for Lissa.

I quickly got up, put Mikhail on the lounge and launched myself in front of Lissa. "You will not touch her Dad. She didn't use compulsion on me." I snarled.

"But she did. I know what compulsion is like and she _was_ using compulsion on you."

"Dimitri, continue reading so that Dad knows Lissa meant no harm."

**Her words had no effect on me at first, but calming thoughts gradually began to settle in my mind, coming across through the bond.**

I silenced my father with a glare when I saw he was about to speak.

**It wasn't exactly compulsion-she wouldn't use that on me-but it was effectual, as was the fact that we were hopelessly outnumbered and outclassed.**

"See I told you she didn't use compulsion on me," I said. I When I saw him physically settle down I returned to my previous position on the lounge with my two boys.

**Even I knew struggling would be pointless. The tension left my body, and I sagged in defeat.**

**Seeing my resignation, the man stepped forward, turning his attention to Lissa. His face was calm. He swept her a bow and managed to look graceful while doing it, which surprised me considering his height.**

A few people chuckled at this but Dimitri did look a little bit saddened.

I put my hand on his shoulder to tell him that I meant it in a complimentary way and he instantly settled down.

"**My name is Dimitri Belikov," he said. I could hear a faint Russian accent. "I've come to take you back to St. Vladimir's Academy, Princess."**

"Well that's that chapter," Dimitri said. "Who wants to read next?"

"I do," Christian said enthusiastically.

Dimitri handed him the book and I groaned. "He's going to make more fun of me."

Christian grinned and cleared his throat. "Chap-"

"Wait," Viktoria interrupted. She turned to look at me. "Can I talk to you alone rose?"

_Oh man,_ I thought. _This is not going to be good.

* * *

_

**What do you think? Do you think that Vikki should ask for Rose's forgiveness? Should the boys have more bets like in this chapter, if so where in the story, who is involved and how much should they bet?**

**Please R+R**

**Dimka'sBabe  
**


End file.
